Catholic Recipe: Irish Soda Bread II
St. Patrick's Day usually falls during Lent, a time of fasting. In Ireland, cooks used to note the day by adding raisins or currants to Lenten bread. Before baking, the bread was marked with the sign of the cross.
DIRECTIONS
Mix and sift flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Cut in butter or margarine with pastry blender or two knives until it resembles coarse corn meal. Stir in raisins. Combine buttermilk, egg, and baking soda. Stir buttermilk mixture into flour mixture until just moistened. Bake in greased 1-quart pudding pan or casserole at 375° for 45 to 50 minutes or until golden brown.
Recipe Source: Cook's Blessings, The by Demetria Taylor, Random House, New York, 1965
